On “Karaoke”, Drake uses Auto-Tune and echoing effects to croon to some unseen woman, just as he does in most songs on the album. But he’s definitely revealing personal issues - his parents’ divorce, success, and past relationships.

The interlude, with Alicia Keys whining, “All I see is fireworks” doesn’t make good use of her gorgeous vocals, and isn’t pretty enough to save the rest of the song. From the concrete, who knew that a flower would grow.” The rhyme is weak it sounds like poetry an eighth-grader would write in his composition book. The album kicks off with “Fireworks”, which Drake begins with the unfortunate lines: “Money just changed everything. No track on Drake’s new album is as good as “Best I Ever Had”, the breakout mixtape single that brought him mega fame and two 2010 Grammy nominations (he didn’t win, but at the ceremony he tore the stage apart in a passionate live performance of “Forever” with Eminem and Wayne). That remains to be seen, because all in all, the album is a mixed bag. That label was clearly wrong, but The New York Times, in a recent feature on Drake, goes too far in the other direction, calling him “the most important and innovative new figure in hip-hop”. The former Canadian TV star has been called a “C-list rapper” by The Washington Post. On Thank Me Later, easily one of the most anticipated releases of the summer, the identity crisis is in full swing. But he’s bucking what seem to be his truer colors as a slower, R&B-type singer in the style of Usher or Ne-Yo. Groomed by Lil Wayne, taken out partying with big boys like Jay-Z and Diddy, the kid seems to view himself as a member of that company - a hard rapper. It is unclear exactly what kind of artist Aubrey Drake Graham wants to be.

Full thank me later album